Outdoor shower taking device



Feb. 19, 1963 R. J. SILINE OUTDOOR SHOWER TAKING DEVICE Filed July 26, 1961 Fig. 3

1N VEN TOR.

United States Patent 3,077,609 OUTDOOR SHOWER TAKING DEVICE Robert J. Siline, 410 S. 4th St., Wapello, Iowa Filed July 26, 1961, Ser. No. 126,984 2 Claims. (Cl. 4151) This invention relates to a gravity-type water containing shower device or apparatus and has reference, more particularly, to a simplified adaptation which is expressly rigged and constructed for conveniently taking a shower where piped water supplying facilities are not available at the place of use.

More specifically, the invention pertains to an outdoor shower head which comprises a container for water, said container having an opening at the bottom through which the liquid may be discharged by gravity, a manually actuatable valve fitted into and normally closing said discharge opening, and shower water trapping and accumulating means supported from the container bottom directly beneath said valved discharge opening, said means being suitably vented and having discharge orifices for the water.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the shower head comprises a simple water trapping and accumulating pan or receptacle. This pan embodies a bottom which is provided around its margin with circumferentially spaced orifices or spray holes. It has an upstanding rim and the upper edge of the rim is provided with at least one and preferably two notches which constitute vents. A simple pail or watter bucket is utilized and the bottom thereof spans the upper edge of the rim and is fixedly secured thereto, that portion of the bucket bottom above the receptacle portion of the pan having a readily openable and closable valve. The valve is controlled at will by the person taking the shower and this is accomplished by a push-pull rod.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view showing a fragmentary portion of a shed-type shower house which is provided with the desired rigging and a shower device constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the shower device on a suitably enlarged scale; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view with parts in elevation taken on the plane of the line 33 of FIGURE 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

With reference to FIGURE 1 the shed, shower house or other building shown at 6 may be of any suitable construction. While it would be within the purview of the invention to employ the shower device indoors it is preferably an outdoor construction and arrangement. The support means comprises a horizontal outstanding arm 8 and a brace 10. The arm is provided with a suitably suspended sheave or pulley 12. The hoisting rope or other equivalent flexible element 14 has an upper end trained over the pulley and a lower end portion 16 attachable to an anchoring nut or the like 18. The shower device is supported by the lifting and lowering rope in the manner illustrated and includes a container. The container is denoted generally by the numeral 20 and specifically it comprises an ordinary water bucket or pail of suitable capacity, the bottom thereof being denoted at 22 and the wall at 24. The numeral 26 designates a handle or bail which is also of a conventional type and to which the rope is attached, whereby to suspend the pail in water containing and dispensing position. As shown in FIG. 3

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an opening 28 is provided in the bucket bottom and the opening is provided with a valve seat ring or collar 30 the upper reduced end 32 of which is fitted into the opening 28 and secured. The bore or passage through the collar provides a valve seat for the plug-type valve element 34. This valve element is mounted between washers 36 on the upper reduced and shouldered end portion 38 of the rod, the rod being a push-pull type and being denoted by the numeral 40. The extreme upper end of the rod is screw-threaded at 42 and provided with a nut 44 which holds the valve element in place. The valve element may be opened and closed in the manner illustrated by the full line and dotted line illustrations in FIGURE 3. The trapping and accumulating member which constitutes the spray head or shower head is a water trapping pan 46, having a bottom 48 with circumferentially spaced mar ginally arranged orifices 50 providing shower holes. The pan has an upstanding annular or equivalent rim 52 and the upper end of the rim is secured against the exterior of the bottom 22 and welded or otherwise secured in place as at 54. The rim just below the pan is provided with diametrically opposite notches 56 constituting vents. The bucket or container provides a reservoir for the main supply of water as at 57 and when the valve is open the water flows by gravity into the pan and is thus showered down upon the user in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1. To accomplish this the push-pull rod 40 is operated, the lower portion of the rod being slidable through a frictional guide means comprising the screwthreaded bushing or sleeve 58 held in place by an assembling and retaining nut 60. The lower end of the sleeve is provided with a packing-equipped cap nut which constitutes a suitable retaining cap or gland 64. The lower portion 62 of the rod 40 projects below the packing gland where it is provided with a knurled finger-grip 66 forming actuating means for convenient operation.

In use the bucket is suspended on the rope below the pulley and assumes the elevated position shown in FIG- URE 1. When ready for the shower the user stands therebeneath as illustrated and the push-pull rod 40 is pushed to allow a desired amount of water to flow into the trapping pan 46. Then the water gravitates through the openings 50 and showers upon the user as illustrated.

The size of the hole or bore in the valve seat is proportional with the combined twelve-hole capacity as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing. The flow through the wide open valve preferably does not exceed the flow capacity of the openings 50.

The notches 56 make the shower head easily cleanable. When it is empty and dry and turned top side down, loose particles would drop out through the notches 56 of the water accumulating pan. Particles of small size could also escape through the valve seat.

When in operation the gravity force or pressure head in the water pail varies with the water level, but at the same time in the water accumulating pan the gravity head remains almost constant, because air passes freely in through the notches or vents 56 and therefore the water in the water accumulating pan is subjected to only its own gravity head.

In operation the user pushes the finger-grip upwardly. The valve element is then open and water runs down into the accumulating pan 46. He can leave the valve open in that position until he wants to shut the water oif. To shut the water off he pulls the finger-grip completely down. It is not necessary to give any attention to how much water is in the water accumulating pan because the water level in the pan can never rise above the notches 56.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A manually operable gravity head shower device comprising a container and a pan dependingly supported by said container, said container having a bottom wall with a discharge opening therein, said pan having a rim whose upper edge is secured to said container bottom wall and has circumferentially spaced openings in said upper edge and rim, a valve seat member in said discharge opening wall having a valve port opening upwardly into said container and downwardly into said pan, said pan having an apertured bottom Wall defining a shower head and having a valve stem opening alined with said valve port, a vertically movable valve in said container cooperating with said valve port and movable upwardly to open said port, a vertical valve stem slidably received in said valve one seat member and valve stem opening and having its upper end fixedly secured to said valve and having an actuating means on its lower end disposed beneath said pan, a guide means in said valve stem opening guidingly and frictionally embracing said valve stem.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said guide means includes a bushing secured to said pan bottom wall and depending through said valve stem opening, a cap threadedly engaged on said bushing and including a packing means therein for adjustably frictionally gripping said valve stem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 4,067 Smith June 2, 1845 8,421 Brown Oct. 14, 1851 2,755,482 'Goins July 24, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 373,345 France Mar. 15, 1907 602,936 Great Britain June 7, 1948 

1. A MANUALLY OPERABLE GRAVITY HEAD SHOWER DEVICE COMPRISING A CONTAINER AND A PAN DEPENDINGLY SUPPORTED BY SAID CONTAINER, SAID CONTAINER HAVING A BOTTOM WALL WITH A DISCHARGE OPENING THEREIN, SAID PAN HAVING A RIM WHOSE UPPER EDGE IS SECURED TO SAID CONTAINER BOTTOM WALL AND HAS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED OPENINGS IN SAID UPPER EDGE AND RIM, A VALVE SEAT MEMBER IN SAID DISCHARGE OPENING WALL HAVING A VALVE PORT OPENING UPWARDLY INTO SAID CONTAINER AND DOWNWARDLY INTO SAID PAN, SAID PAN HAVING AN APERTURED BOTTOM WALL DEFINING A SHOWER HEAD AND HAVING A VALVE STEM OPENING ALINED WITH SAID VALVE PORT, A VERTICALLY MOVABLE VALVE IN SAID CONTAINER COOPERATING WITH SAID VALVE PORT AND MOVABLE UPWARDLY TO OPEN SAID PORT, A VERTICAL VALVE STEM SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN SAID VALVE SEAT MEMBER AND VALVE STEM OPENING AND HAVING ITS UPPER END FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID VALVE AND HAVING AN ACTUATING MEANS ON ITS LOWER END DISPOSED BENEATH SAID PAN, A GUIDE MEANS IN SAID VALVE STEM OPENING GUIDINGLY AND FRICTIONALLY EMBRACING SAID VALVE STEM. 